Super effective!
by Lorettine
Summary: (CONTESTSHIPPING) As our heroes continue their way to…oh, sorry! Not this time. This time it's only one young hero, actually. She looks real pretty, she's just passed through the X-rays at the airport of Hoenn and she made the alarm go off for some reason (...). Her name is May and there's a Skitty sitting on her head, muttering the usual "nya, nya!" under it's nose.
1. Chapter 1

**Super effective!**

Author's note: I never believed May was ten, not even in the anime (or maybe the one drawing her had a dirty mind), I mean look at her feminine body... :P I don't know what age to assign to her, so you just all give her the age you want, same with everyone else and let's all be happy! Now go and enjoy!

* * *

As our heroes continue their way to…oh, sorry! Not this time. This time it's only one young hero, actually. She looks real pretty, she's just passed through the X-rays at the airport of Hoenn and she made the alarm go off for some reason, just like every other girl every single time. Her name is May and there's a Skitty sitting on her head, muttering the usual "nya, nya!" under it's nose. Disconcerted and feeling like a drug dealer, May stands still with her arms slightly raised, trying not to laugh as the police lady examined her briefly. For some reason she was awfully ticklish lately.

"Well, Skitty," she said, "off we go now!"

"Nya, nyaaa!"

A few months ago May has been travelling with a group of friends and her little brother trough the region of Hoenn, participating in battles, contests and adventures. When their ways parted, she stayed home and tried to focus on some studying, thus doing her best to forget the infatuation she had for a fellow coordinator named Drew. Honestly, which girl doesn't enjoy receiving roses and roses?

"Yes, thank you so much, sir, you're most kind." With a polite smile, May gave her suitcase to a man who offered to help her storing it in the compartment over their heads. Then the young lady frowned at her boarding pass and ran her glance trough the crowded airplane, in search of her seat.

Where is she flying anyway? Oh, right! To Johto, that's what it says on her ticket.

"No, Skitty, stop that! That's not a toy, it's that lady's hat! Sorry, I'm sorry…"

And why is she flying to Johto? True, that's not written on her ticket, but it sure lays deep within her light blue eyes, on her blushing cheeks and her bosom, vibrating from the way her heart is thumping. Oh, there's her seat! Finally… _I'm sorry, sir, sorry, kindly excuse me – thank you!_ She breathed out a shaky flow of air and pressed her palms against her chest to calm down a little.

"…There are eight emergency exists…"

Skitty jumped into May's lap and curled up into it's typical sleeping position. Keeping her eyes closed, May began to gently stroke the tip of its tail.

So why is she travelling to Johto again? Well, lately, based on the frequency with which she dropped food from the fork, stared into nothingness and sniffed she roses dad gave to mom, she could but conclude that what she fell into with Drew was more than just an infatuation. And because our May has always been a woman in action, she didn't hesitate, twisted the telephone cable around her index finger and called…

"...We recommend to keep your safety belts fastened during the whole flight."

…her best, best friend Alba, who always understood her and would never hang up, not even if May repeated thirty six times how cute Drew's chin was. Alba didn't disappoint, she told May that she should immediately go where Drew was and tell him that she wanted more roses and a voucher to all her favorite clothing trademarks, before it would be too late! And May didn't disappoint either, as she right then and there said: "Yes! That's what I'm going to do!" And thus, lying to her parents and brother about wanting to win some more contests and missing the freedom from her life, she booked the closest flight to Johto, she got on the plane and this is where we catch up with her.

"…And finally, we remind you that all our flights are non-smoking."

May gobbled up a sweetie, Skitty a piece of May's purple surprise (Skitty flinched and couldn't move) and off they took.

May was lucky to sit next to the window, otherwise she wouldn't get even the single pleasure a flight could give her. She didn't really like to fly, that is. Nevertheless, she didn't have much time to think about this, as she had to do her best to breathe normally. She received so many roses from Drew, Alba's words made her a confident young woman (so confident that she grabbed a pack of contraceptive stickers before leaving), but her hands were still cold and sweaty, which is probably the worst combination you can imagine.

She thought if she asked the stewardess for wine it'd make her chill out, but she didn't get one, because she still wasn't eighteen. At least my teeth will remain white, she thought, as she started to tremble again, because she spotted the shores of the Johto region. She produced a mysterious hiccup, which shook Skitty awake. To punish its careless trainer, the kitten double-slapped her cheek with its tail, but stopped at the thought that it might earn it another block of May's purple surprise.

"…Please remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop."

"Careful, Skitty…oh, thank you, sir! You're so good." May grabbed her suitcase and strolled off to see whether she managed to book her room at the Pokémon Centre in the Goldenrod City correctly.

* * *

"The next contest? It's in one week's time exactly, in Ecruteak City. Do you know how to get there?"

"I guess I can do it if I find a map, thank you, Joy."

"Sure. There's a map on that wall…"

* * *

"Blastoise! Spin and use hydro pump! Glaceon! Jump on top of Blastoise and use frost breath! Yayyy, that's the spirit!"

Because May managed to send her suitcase directly to Ecruteak City by a ferry, she could walk with just a yellow backpack on. On her way she walked into a large park and a sudden impulse led her to decide for a lunch break, a bit of a rest and then training. After that she bought a magazine, because she was a woman in the first place, and women need gossips.

"Huh?!"

May was sitting on the grass along with her Poke pals, chewing the last cookie from a pack of exactly thirty six and sipping coffee, when she gave a closer look to the magazine she bought. Well, if it wasn't Drew right on the front page! "_The secrets of a young idol_", it says, so let's see those!

May almost choked on her cookie and spilled her coffee and tore up her magazine as she was searching for the interview. She was so into Drew's photos that she didn't notice that Skitty ran totally away and Beautifly stuck its proboscis into her coffee and immediately acquired a "hyperactive" nature.

_Oh, this is him, and this too, oh! I must write to Alba how handsome he is just as I get to my computer! But…he's so famous, what if he already has a girlfriend? There must be so many girls crazy after him…_ Without having an actual reason, May got scared and jealous at the same time.

"Is this your Skitty, miss?" A woman was handing the small Pokémon to her.

"Nyyyya, nya!"

"Skitty! Yes, why, thank you! Where was she?"

"Over there, eating our food! Oh, never mind, but maybe you should consider feeding it…"

"Yes, thank you! Oh, Skitty..."

"Nya, nyaaa!"

* * *

The same night May was having dinner at a sushi bar in Ecruteak city. It was warm, the stars were bright and the moon was round – everything favored a session of really kitschy images inside May's head. She was eating a lot, partly because it was May and also because her temporary roommate, Catharina, invited her. She was carrying along her pride, a fancy Mawile. Catharina didn't want to talk about Drew, which earned her both love and hate from May. While the two of them were waiting for their food, Catharina managed to catch May's interest, which should have earned her a medal at those moments:

"Do you know what this is?"

"A gem?"

"A mega stone."

"It looks pretty."

"Yeah, it can do pretty unique stuff. You'll see at the contest."

"Wow, I sure am curious. Can I hold it?"

"Yeah, here. But be careful."

"Wooow…"

May took the round object, checked its weight, frowned upon its being so cold…

"…it warms up when it unleashes its energy."

"Oh my, you sure know how to get one thrilled. Can you unleash it here?"

"No, not here. We just wanna eat now, right, Mawile?"

"Ma-wile!"

"Eat? Oh, sure, you're right!"

Finally they brought them the ordered menu. Probably even being "Lost in Drew", May still cared about food more than about anything else. She gripped her chopsticks tenderly and stuck out the tip of her tongue to choose where to begin. When she lifted her gaze a bit, she noticed that Catharina's Mawile was watching her all the way. The little Pokémon's intense, ruby eyes and slow blinking made her unsure of herself, but making sure that she didn't have a dirty nose or anything, she just tried to eat, although she found it difficult with those hypnotic eyes on her all the time. The worst of it all was that Catharina really didn't seem to care or notice this, as she kept babbling about her one night stands all the time, gesturing expressively, preferably with one chopstick in each hand. When she finished her meal and May was still holding the same morsel of sushi, Catharina finally asked her what was wrong.

"Do they cook so badly here? Good, next time we'll go to a better place. Right, Mawile? Um…Mawile? What's up? Mawile! Are you frozen solid or what? Huh? …Aaaaaaw! Yeah, look, May, there's another Mawile sitting right over there and it looks like it'll be a male! Oh, isn't that cute! Heheh… go, sweetie. Why don't you go over and play?"

"Ma-ma-wile..!"

_Phew…and I can finally eat…_ May sighed and surprisingly quickly recovered her appetite.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, our lovely, young coordinator May puts down a remarkable combination of hydro pump and frost breath! Let's see what the judges have to say about it! …And…ladies and gentlemen, it's an incredible perfect score for May from Petalburg City! Give her a rooound applause!"

So that was how it went through the Ecruteak City contest. The crowd was cheering, May was waving at everyone and trying to maintain a smile on her face, although her lips already hurt. True, she was happy upon being given her ribbon at the end, truly happy, but…well, but. Simply "but". There was no Drew and that's that. May supposed that he had already won all five ribbons that you need to be able to enter the Grand Festival, but sometimes you just believe in miracles at least until you face the reality.

So there stood our princess from Hoenn, touchingly raising one hand to wave, gripping the ribbon in the other one and wiping her tears away – she hardly knew what was causing them.

"How touching, ladies and gentlemen! We can but wish this young lady good luck in the next contest!"

May just smiled, although when Vivian actually spoke out these words, she longed to shout out that she wasn't crying for having won her ribbon.

As soon as May got to her room at the Pokémon Centre, she wrote to Alba. She told her that she was losing hope – she would go to the end of the world for Drew, just to ask for roses and diamonds, and he doesn't even know that she came to Johto. Why can't he use telepathy or something?! He was supposed to be on that contest, cheering on her! He was supposed to ask to marry her at the end, in front of all those fangirls!

"_Come on, May_," Alba wrote, "_You are way too impatient. This was your first contest. He was surely watching it. He'll find out about your presence and he'll contact you, trust me_."

May trusted her, because she had no better option.

But she soon regretted it. The next contest came, it took place in Violet City. No Drew, no passionate declaration of love, May almost came to hate the ribbon she won. It was pink, with green dots.

While crossing the city centre to get to the Pokémon Centre, May's heart was about to go through a massive acid test. But she had no idea about it. The sun was setting. The sky was bright pink, the air was warm and in May's fantasy, all the clouds had the form of a heart, or at least a rose. Every youngster resembled Drew and smiled at her, the people were nice and she thought that maybe she'd find a rose perfume, like Alba advised her the previous night. "_Drew'll love that_," she assured May.

May liked to think of Drew and things related to him (=everything) in the future tense, because it felt just more real than the conditional. Alba had a talent to recognize these things without being told and that's why (at least now) she was May's best friend.

Suddenly, after crossing the road, in the garden of a nearby bar, May spotted a pair of white, fluttering wings and a long, green tail with red stripes. She focused her tired eyes and concluded that she's seeing a Flygon and a Masquerain. Next she saw…well, of course – she saw Drew! He was sitting there, laughing about something. May wanted to call at him, but held her breath the next moment, when a younger girl with red hair appeared, hugged Flygon with one arm and Drew with the other. May felt all the blood of her body rush right into her face. The last thing she saw was a thin, tall and purple-haired Harley standing up from the same table, probably to make sure if he was really seeing her. Before he had time to act in any way, May was gone, because she was a woman and we know well that women sometimes like to use their fantasy. Sometimes a bit too much, therefore:

_"It must have been his girlfriend!"_ May typed to Alba, killing off the hearts of many Greenpeace members because of all the paper napkins she was using up.

"_Come on!_" her friend replied, "_You have no idea who she was! And honestly, coming to such radical conclusions after so little time is rather childish._"

Ouch! With that comment, Alba temporarily lost the title of a best friend, only to regain it the next time Drew appeared on the TV and May needing to tell someone how hot he looks.

In a nutshell, May concluded that she best went back home, retired to the countryside and lived the rest of her life as a hermit, without love or contact with other people. From one minute to another, all her desire to compete vanished to thin air. But only until Catharina entered their room last night, extended her hand with two papers and said:

"The next contest's in five days in Cianwood City. I have two tickets for a ship that'll take us there. You'll join me, won'cha? I may consider unleashing the superpower of Mawile's little jewel…"

Mawile stared at May in a way that assured her it wasn't a handsome fellow Mawile that caught the little Pokémon's attention the other day.

May closed her eyes and smiled for some mysterious reason. "Well then."

And so they took off to Cianwood City. They walked, went by train and by boat. Catharina and May spent many hours together and gradually got to know each other. With time, Catharina told May about her boyfriend and May told her about Drew. May was even gradually getting used to Mawile's penetrating and intense eyes, although there were times she really felt like going crazy, when the little creature gazed at her for what felt like hours and the worst thing was that Catharina still didn't seem to really care about this vice her Pokémon developed. May already tried some tricks like snapping at Mawile when her friend wasn't looking or throwing tiny paper balls…but nothing seemed to be helping.

Luckily, their journey wasn't long enough to drive May crazy. Soon their feet hit the ground of Cianwood City, located on an island nearby. And by then they had little time left to train before the contest.

Suddenly, May found herself facing off against her new friend. They were the last two coordinators left, the crowd was so silent you'd hear the echo of a needle falling on the floor and Mawile was standing in front of Catharina, piercing May with its rubies, like always. May was using Skitty this time. Once again, she was getting nervous, examining the audience roughly for some green hair, but no luck. After all, after her real-life encounter with Drew and his new girlfriend she gradually lost her hopes and decided to actually win the Ribbon Cup, or snatch it away from Drew, to be more accurate.

The clock started ticking.

"Go, Skitty!"

"Go, Mawile!"

May only saw the movement as Catharina flung the precious gem into the air, the flash that followed blinded her and her Pokémon, as well as the crowd that let out many shrieks of disbelief.

After a few moments the flash faded and the crowd started cheering. May's jaw dropped as she saw Mawile so different, yet the same in some way. "Ma-ha-ha-haaa," it laughed, snapping its double jaw threateningly, taking up an absolute fighting stance. If it weren't for the situation, May would even have thought it looked cute. But the time was flowing and Mawile's mega evolved jaws took a bite way too hungry from May's points.

"Uh…Skitty! Use assist!"

"Nyaaaa!"

"…Assist turned into vine whip! Careful, Skitty! Mawile's jaws look almost deadly! Will Skitty be able to escape their grip?"

"Mawile, jump and use fairy wind! Then spin and use shadow ball!"

"Magnificent! May's points sure are suffering!"

"Grrrr…Skitty! Jump on top of that shadow ball! And use assist again!"

It sure did take some time and nerves on both sides, but Skitty managed to use fire spin at some point and took Mawile out before the clock struck zero. May received yet another ribbon and was again waving and jumping and being happy and sad at the same time.

After she received all the applause, after they took about a million photos and asked her a million useless questions, she ran off to the dressing room and slipped down onto the bench next to her locker. Something felt uncomfortable though, so she reached under herself to see what she sat on.

Well, this time it was she who produced an exhausted shriek of disbelief, which gradually blended into a delightful "Hahahahahahaha!" She had to cover her mouth. Well, there it was! A rose! Just as red, with no thorns, as she remembered them. She smelled it. It was totally fresh, he must still be here! He's breathing the same air! Forgetting to change, May ran, not knowing where, completely overwhelmed with a lightness impossible to describe. "Dreeew! Dreeew! Where are you? Dreeew!"

"May? Are you okay?" Catharina seemed to have been waiting for her in the lobby.

"Cathy…oh, yes, yes. Where's Drew?! You must have seen him! He was here, just moments ago!"

"Drew? May, you're really tired, go and change and we'll go get some sleep. But hey, congrats! You are the best!"


	2. Chapter 2

Olivine City was more of a town than a city, but it sure had its charm. There was a large beach. If you followed it, you could get a tan, bathe, ride a boat and finally climb on top of a charming lighthouse. Naturally, the beach was full of bars and restaurants, because the businessmen were not stupid, they knew that people would certainly be willing to pay twice the price if they could sink their bare feet into the white sand and watch the sea. One of the cozy tables in one of the cozy bars was occupied by three ladies and a Mawile, which makes it pretty easy to guess at least two of them. The third was the finger-licking beautiful Jasmine, the local gym leader. May would normally have shown some surprise upon hearing that she and Catharina were related, but in the state she currently was in, she often drifted off to a lethargy so sweet it would give everyone a toothache if described more into details. The rose safe in her diary, she again saw Drew in every by-passer… That girlfriend must have been a fake.

"…May! Hello? May! You here with us? Jasmine was asking you how many ribbons you had."

"Ummmm… W-what?"

"Oh well, never mind."

"No, no. May, I was wondering how many ribbons you won since you arrived in Johto?"

"Three. I-I'm planning to enter the Festival."

"Wow, but then you know you have to win both this contest here and the one in Goldenrod city? The Grand Festival will be in the National park in just three weeks, but there are only two contests left till then…"

"Oh, don't worry, Jasmine, I have it under control."

"You sure are brave and confident, May."

"Well, she has a right to be, she won three out of three contests that she entered here so far, right May?"

"Yes…but it was more of a coincidence."

"That doesn't really matter in the end," Catharina laughed and ordered more drinks. "Come, May, we're getting you drunk tonight, I don't wanna hear Drew's name for at least twenty four hours, please! Am I right, Mawile?"

"Ma-wile!"

"Cathy, go easy on May!"

"No worries, sis! I got a broad schooling on parties in Kalos…"

* * *

Catharina's partying experience really paid off – or well, it depends on which point of view you assume. May was having such a hangover that even two days after, upon entering the contest, she had to be on Tylenol in order not to use spit up on her Beautifly.

"Ugh…Beautifly, use psychic!" Lately Beautifly begun using this attack instead of string shot. It was cool to make the Frisbees levitate for once.

"Beauuuu-tifly!" The lovely insect performed its move and threw a worried glance at its trainer, whose face now had the color of Drew's hair, or maybe a tone or two more grayish.

In the final round May and Beautifly were facing off against a large Stoutland. May could barely stand, gaining some support only from pushing her knees together, stopping them from shaking. She never wanted to see her bed as much as that day. To win a contest in such a condition is not a small thing. And of course, May did it, because that's what this story requires.

Catharina was not there to accompany her, and May thought it better, because she wouldn't laugh at her right then and there, but only after seeing her on the photos. And so May pinned yet another ribbon into her ribbon case and throwing a brief, but satisfied look at the fruit of her efforts, she changed.

She hopefully scanned the bench by her locker with her eyes, but looks like once again she had gained too much confidence. Her heart sunk painfully, when she saw no rose waiting for her.

And so, feeling sick AND having been let down by the love of her life, she angrily made her way out of the contest hall. She was so annoyed she didn't even look under her feet and suddenly, even if in one thousand other cases no such thing would happen, her foot slipped. May yelled, for a few brief seconds she felt like flying and then she came face to face with the reality. Quite painfully, that is.

As she was rubbing her injured parts and cursing, she slowly opened her eyes and saw light pink rose petals scattered on the floor. She almost got a heart attack, but managed to get up and figure out that there was a narrow path formed of the petals. And if they made themselves known to her so brutally, who else could they be for?

Biting hard on her fist and barely breathing, May followed the petals. They led her right into a room festooned entirely with roses. It smelled really nice in there. Everything was pink and perfect and then someone tapped her eyes from behind and gently, tenderly kissed her in the hair. "I've been waiting for you, May," Drew whispered. "Heeeee!" May squealed and threw herself into his arms happily, never to let him go again…

…I'm kidding. May was just having a _really_ bad hangover. There was no room with rose petals _and_ rosy aroma, because no one in my stories would have such a bad taste. She actually threw herself into the arms of a large, creepy Cacturne and when she was about to open her lips and really injure herself, a highly feminine voice shrieked: "Hey, that's _my_ Cacturne, missy!"

"Harley?! What are _you_ doing here?!" May wrinkled her nose and pushed Cacturne away, beginning to pull out the spikes of her skin and clothes. That sure was a cruel joke, but it woke May up better than winning a contest and eating up an entire box of Tylanol.

"Why, lining your path with roses, of course."

"That's…that's _your_ doing, all this?!"

"Who did you think did it?"

"Um…"

"Tell me, cutiepie!" Harley took her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. "Yeah, yeah… you've been hiding your love for long enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Drew, of course! What do you think? That a person so sensitive as myself would not see something like that? Well, sweetheart! Come with me now, let me show you my space ship…"

May was already used to Harley's being rare, but this time it felt like even he was crossing the line. "Wait, what space ship? And what about that last rose? Did…did _you_ give it to me as well?"

"'Course, what did you think?!"

"Oh…"

"Don't be sad, my little gingerbread cookie. It was worth it, wasn't it?! A few days of bliss that no one will ever take away from you…"

"Maybe except Harley."

"_Mayley_, if you please."

Only now did May notice that once again, Harley was dressed up to match her. "Oh, god…"

"…And now _voilá_!"

They arrived to the car park and stopped in front of the most idiotic vehicle May ever saw in her whole life. It was an old model painted bright pink with a brush, obviously.

"_This_ is your space ship?"

"Well, of course! Isn't it the loveliest you've ever seen? It's what I bought with the first money they ever gave me for an interview!"

"Oh…stunning."

¨Cacturne loves it!"

"I see."

"Wanna take a ride?! Or wait, I'll put it in a different way: you'll take a ride with me right now. We'll go and eat some cute little ice cream by the seashore and I'll tell you something."

"What?"

"I wanted to marry you ever since I first saw you."

"What?!"

"Oh never mind, I finally have your attention, _May_."

"Great…"

"Now get that pretty butt of yours inside my space ship and let's go reach the stars!"

"But Harley, I'm not sure I want to be inside a car you're driving…"

"It's _Mayley_, honey!"

"Oh, all right then."

And so she got in. She preferred not to ask for the origin of the enchanting aroma inside Harley's car. She just remembered to hold on to the remaining components in the sharper curves and tried not to focus on Pink yelling "Are we all we aaa-aaare!" all the way from Harley's player that was set on the "repeat" mode as a bonus.

"So you thought that your beloved Drew sent you a rose?" Harley asked with a certain dose of sarcasm, while sweetly licking the cutest little ice cream you can imagine.

"Well, he used to do it some time ago…"

"Yeah, those were the times when you were young and beautiful." Harley laughed at his own joke, because no one else would do it.

"But I saw that he had a girlfriend that night…"

"…And you couldn't sleep since then, am I right, my little pink Luvdisc?"

"Don't call me that!"

"Oh, yes, she sure is very, very much in love with Drew…"

"Hmmm…"

"Just like you."

"No!"

"Her name is Brianna…"

"What?! What did you say?!"

"Brianna…she even stopped calling him Mr. Drew by now! Isn't it wonderful what love can do? Oh, but May! Wait…"

"Huh?"

"Don't cry!"

"I'm not crying…"

"And don't lie, either! You see, Brianna's not exactly Drew's girlfriend…"

"Oh?"

"…Hihihiii…look at those sparkles in your eyes!" Harley took both her hands and considered buying her such a cute ice cream as well. "…Although she'd surely like it, no doubt about that."

"But…but…why was she hugging his Flygon and…and…"

"_His_ Flygon? May, sweetheart, Drew's Flygon gets the atopic eczema the moment it hears Brianna's name. She wanted it to marry _her_ Flygon, that is."

"She has a Flygon too?" May's voice was getting a somewhat brighter tone by now.

"Oh, of course, and a Masquerain too! That girl copies Drew in all she can. She was really drunk the night you saw her. And I wanted to tell you how much you misinterpreted the scene, but you gave me no chance. Actually, she's entering the Grand Festival… You have four ribbons now, haven't you?"

"That's right! And I'm entering _and_ winning!"

"My, my! Looks like Brianna used jealousy and it was super effective and a critical hit too! Now you seem to have snapped out of it…"

"W-where's Drew now?"

"With Solidad in Goldenrod City. That's where the last contest is, sweetie. You make sure you win it, so we can have some fun destroying you at the Grand Festival!"

"Oh, Harley, you wish!"

"Mayley! It's _Mayley_!"

"Oh, shut up."

"I'll tell you something, if you call me Mayley."

"Grrruh…well, please, _Mayley_?"

"There's a good girl. Now come, lend me your tiny, tiny little ear."

After a few moments, May went through a stage of keeping a hand in front of her mouth and over into that expression which you gain after having smoked a pound of weed. And Harley, all happy, handed her a purple box: "I made some cookies. Wanna try?"

May knew very well this was a test. "Thank you!"

"So? How-are-they?" Harley leaned so close to her she could feel his peppermint ice cream breath.

"Never better, Mayley."

"You learn faster than I thought!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: sorry about the length, guys, but there wasn't a place where I could cut this part! I still hope you enjoy!**

**3/**

That same night Catharina's Mawile had rotten luck. After May told her friend Catharina all about that day's conversation with Harley/Mayley, our lost young hero soon became like a broken LP, repeating the same things over and over again. And because Catharina had better things to do, she kissed her Mawile warmly on the top of its head and left it there, since Mawile seemed to take great enjoyment in observing May. Thus everyone was content and that's the way it should be.

* * *

May's last contest wasn't supposed to be any different from the previous ones. She had to come, do some magic and win. She couldn't really concentrate, but this time the reason was at least a bit more positive – she never loved Harley like back then. At the same time she was pretty nervous. It's Goldenrod City, Drew's there and he's surely somewhere in the audience! He must be!

May didn't need to search for too long, since way too soon she saw a gigantic banner that read "Go, go, go, May!". It was painted with red and there were many little hearts around. Solidad was holding up one half, Harley the other, but as soon as the latter saw that May turned her face there, he rammed the paper into the hands of a shocked and seemingly a bit annoyed Drew. Then he grinned at May and showed her some delighted thumbs up.

May didn't quite know how to react and it's understandable – seeing the love of your life for the first time after so long in such an awkward situation doesn't make it exactly easy to ask for vouchers and diamonds. May giggled nervously, lifted her hand to say hi and then ran her tongue over her teeth to make sure Drew wouldn't find out she ate a bread roll with cottage cheese and spinach that morning.

Our miss coordinator also noticed a frowning Brianna, by now in Harley's arms, who was petting her on the top of her head like a puppy. Her expression was that of a three year old from a good family after she's told that she can't pull the tablecloth off the table.

May used up all her Pokémon in that last contest. From time to time she glanced in the direction of her personal cheerleaders, but tried to do so in a way so that they wouldn't notice. They all noticed (May was a dismal actress), but didn't want to make May unhappy, so they pretended not to know. She then noted that Drew smiled at her and for some unknown reason she growled aloud: "Mwaaaahhhh…are we all we aaaaare…!"

When she won, Harley's cheers were so loud and delighted they almost seemed false, like always, after all. But May still loved him that day. That day she loved everyone. And she pinned her last ribbon. A navy blue one with golden lining.

"Maaay…cutipie! Look, I have a gift for you!"

"No, thank you, no more cookies, Harley! You're very ni- …oh."

May felt embarrassed, because Harley's hand was resting on Drew's shoulder and she just remembered how lazy she was the previous night to wash her hair. She made some last vain attempt at correcting her disheveled hairdo, but it was too late. She blushed and looked Drew's Roserade deep in the eyes.

"Look, May, Drew has a gift for you." Harley said and handed May a bouquet. One of the loveliest she's ever seen. She was just about to give in and join Harley in playing this pleasant game, but as she lifted her gaze, she only heard Drew say:

"For god's sake, Harley, you're embarrassing me! Come on, Roserade. …Sorry, May." And he walked away.

"Wha-…did I say something? Romeo! Hey, Romeooo!"

"Stop, Harley. Drew's right, you've done just enough," Solidad cut in, grabbing Harley's vigorous forearm.

Harley folded his arms and looked a bit offended and a bit disappointed as well. "They're both so stupid! They're in love, everyone knows, except them," he sung.

"Leave them Harley. They're adult people – "

"_What?!_"

"_Yes_, and you leave them alone. They know what they're doing."

"No, they don't. Now _you_ leave me. Dreeeeew…wait for me, big boy… Let's go get drunk!"

That's bad, thus May and Solidad lost the opportunity of being driven home.

Being aware of their cruel fate, Solidad put a hand on May's shoulder. "Well…we all blew this, didn't we? Except you, of course," she smirked. "May, you were great. Let's forget about this, you deserve a celebration."

They ended up in a small, nice café on one of the main avenues.

"…Yeah, one small Viennese…but without any cream, if you please…thank you! And you, May? Order whatever you want, I'm paying tonight, so go ahead!"

Solidad didn't need to say this twice. "A century egg as a starter, then a California roll with black mushroom salad, an Italian style risotto, grilled vegetables with parmesan and um…an ice cream as a dessert. The cutest one you have."

"Wow…that contest must have worn you out," Solidad chuckled at May's appetite.

May licked her lips. "You three wore me out above all…you should all invite me to eat. Too bad you'll have to do your term for all three of you, Solidad."

Solidad smiled a bit wryly, but May didn't even notice that. She couldn't have, because the next moment she proposed:

"Maybe I could call on Catharina and she on Jasmine and they could join us!"

"Ha ha ha…I love you, May! Some more of this, please! Of course, let them join us after one of us wins the Grand Festival!"

"Oh, never mind, I was only joking," May lied.

A few minutes later she was already enjoying her food and smiling like a little angel at Solidad, because the chefs had done some good job.

Solidad was calmly sipping her coffee, carefully keeping her little finger extended and watching the men passing by. "Such a pity that Harley isn't here…I so love to classify men with him…we have quite a similar taste in them, in fact."

May almost choked on her California roll.

"What about Drew anyway? He does like you, you know."

"Huh?"

"Yeah…he talks about you a lot. He always did. And when he found out you were here he was quite in rapture, although he thought no one could see. You just have to try and understand him. Give him some time. It looks like he's having trouble dealing with these deep emotions. He's never had a girlfriend before."

"How do you know?"

"I asked him," Solidad shrugged as if she were explaining May how did she achieve such an exquisite aftertaste in her cherry pie. "He's shy and stubborn. And so are you, May. But…you know – fingers crossed!"

"Thank you," May blushed and took a long time to chew the mouthful she just had. After about five minutes when she finally swallowed the food, she determined to ask something that had her honestly curious: "These roses here…who bought them?"

"Oh…Drew."

"Really?!" Isn't it incredible how just one name can change the perspective you had until then about a bunch of flowers?

"Yes…he wanted to leave them anonymously for you…you know his style, after all. But Harley took the reins too firmly this time."

"I see."

Then none of them knew what to say next, so Solidad ordered a bottle of red wine to make the conversation flow a little. After May's delicious dinner and with both of them really happy for having drunk the wine, they decided to make it a true ladies' night, so they actually made Jasmine and Catharina join them. May regretted this as soon as Mawile set its eyes on her. She ordered three more Margaritas to make the image a bit more blurry at least and it didn't take long before Jasmine, muttering something that she felt bad, as challengers would be coming tomorrow to her gym, remarked that she really enjoyed partying with them.

The sun stretched its rays mightily and slapped four pretty cheeks belonging to four princesses snoring like fallen angels. Some of them on the single bed, some on the floor, some halfway here and halfway there.

Man, that sure was one powerful party!

May smacked her lips in her "no stress" way and slowly began to open one eye. It was hard.

"Ma! Ma-wile!"

"Wuuuaaaaaaahhh!"

"Huh…wat? It mornin' already?"

"Mmmmh…shut up and let's sleep some more."

"Um…Jasmine…didn't you say you had some gym battles today?"

"Yeah…at one pm… Now let me sleep…"

"Well, don't wanna break it to ya, sweetie, but…it's kinda one thirty pm…"

"Oh… oh. Ok. Wait…_what_?!"

Jasmine sprang to her feet and rubbed her eyes that were totally glued, because she forgot to remove her contact lenses the previous night…or morning. "Shit…" she murmured when she checked her watch. "Well, 'twas nice seeing you, girls. Be good. I'm off… Love ya, Cathy…"

"Jasmine, they're going to first report you for causing a public nuisance with that hangover of yours and then they'll fire you as a gym leader."

"Thanks, Solidad. Well, Steelix and I are winners!" She punched into the air with her fist, but then realized that was a gesture way too energetic for her present condition and gave a desperate sigh. "Well…bye…"

As she opened the door, she bumped into someone, cursed lightly and was gone.

Harley's purple head appeared and it looked about just as representative as May's or Solidad's.

"What?" Solidad was clearly very happy to see Harley.

"Yay! Can't I join you, ladies?"

"…Nnno. Get - out."

"…Since that pretty friend of yours left a free place…"

"I said get out, Harley."

Harley didn't enter, only shook his unkempt purple hair and gestured for Solidad to go out, in a very important manner.

And Solidad? Well, what could she do? She rolled her eyes so intensely it was painful, but she went.

May didn't remember much more. She pushed Mawile's intense face aside in vain, then turned to her other side and drifted back to sleep.

Solidad shook her awake adamantly a few hours later. "May? May! How's your budget?"

"What? Oh…it used to be worse…why?"

"Dress up and come along. Let's do some ladies' shopping today. Let Cathy sleep in…it's been a tough night. But a great one, too." Solidad stretched and checked the time. "…And hurry! It's past three!"

"Riiight! But…I don't wanna do any shopping, I just…yaaaaawn…wanna sleep some more, please."

"Oh yes, you do want to! Now come quick! Harley allowed us to borrow his car."

"That pink space ship? I hope you asked him to at least switch off that _Are we all we are_…"

Although that day/afternoon began with May's protests, as soon as she saw the "50% off" banner in her favorite boutique, she forgot the cruel way in which Solidad woke her. She clasped her hands together and produced a sound similar to the one when a woman is having an orgasm.

Solidad laughed at this, but had a hard time concealing her own emotions upon seeing so many lovely dresses. She had to keep in mind that they didn't come there for _her_ sake and inside, she secretly swore that the next day she'd come with Harley and buy all the shirts she ran her fingers over. But enough dreaming, she clenched her fist painfully. "May! May, how is it? Do you like anything?"

"Um…yes! This T-shirt looks so nice! And this hat…and…and these jeans!"

"Oh, you're right!" Solidad also swore she'd try on everything May has just shown to her. "And how about the dresses? Like any of them?"

"Don't know…I have so many dresses at home."

"But you're a woman, how can you say such a thing?"

"I-"

"A woman can never have enough dresses…why don't you choose one?"

"Because…I'd prefer new jeans!"

"Then buy jeans and a dress!"

"But…why, Solidad? Why do you want me to buy a dress so much? Hey…you're up to no good, am I right? What did you talk to Harley about so secretly this morning?!"

"That's a secret. Now stop answering back and choose a nice dress!"

May snorted and chose a super sexy model, because she'd never confess it to Solidad, but she was dying to know her plan with May's new dress.

"Great! Good job, May, lovely! When can I borrow it? Uh…just kidding."

"Yeah…so…now we're done and I can choose jeans!"

"Yes, yes…sure…sure! Just…do you have shoes and a handbag?"

May widened her large eyes at Solidad and beamed. "No. Not here."

It was getting dark when the two women got back to Solidad's room. Miss top coordinator rammed her large collection of cosmetics into May's arms and with the words "Think about Drew and make yourself pretty…I mean _even prettier_," she basically pushed her into the small bathroom she had in her room. Then she begun working on packing Catharina's stuff, as she was just waking up.

May felt annoyingly confused, but was at the same time starting to like playing with Solidad. Specially if she allows her to finally try M.A.C. make-up. She was drooling over it while watching some tutorials and eating breadrolls with cottage cheese and spinach.

…That reminded her of first having to brush her teeth. All her inner organs were dancing flamenco, because she felt she'd be seeing Drew that night. May really wanted to screech, but she wasn't sure if because of how happy or how nervous she was.

In each case, after some time our May left the bathroom all changed and looking like a top model in her super push up maximizer bra that cost her about like that fancy navy blue dress she was wearing. God, she was content! And even more when Solidad grasped both her hands and just dropped her jaw. One second after that Solidad was brutally knocked aside by Harley, who sure proved to be more expressive.

"Ooooooooooh, myyyyyyyyy, Maaaaaaay! You look soooooo eatable! Can I give you a kiss?" Without waiting for any response, Harley kissed her on the cheek and then wiped his cherry chapstick off with his thumb, thus ruining one half of May's make-up. Lucky she never knew, the poor thing.

"Well, Harley?"

He and Solidad shared a look that proved that May was the only one who hadn't the slightest idea of what the heck was going on. Solidad then left and Harley pulled out a purple scarf that smelled like the inside of his space ship. "Turn your back on me, cutiepie, and close your precious eyes, if you please."

"WHAT are you about to do, Harley?! I don't trust you, you see."

"May… but you have no choice…muhahahahahaha!" Harley span her around with his sheer force ability that was until then hidden and tied the scarf to cover May's eyes. "Don't you dare to protest, little girl. Now I'mma kidnap and violate you. Right in my space ship!"

"No, Harley, stop! Not there! Not in your space ship!"

Harley laughed out. "C'mon, like I'd want to nail a girl… But hey-May, do me a favor and don't ruin this evening. Don't touch that scarf, leave it where it is."

Harley made her take his arm and reliably filled in for May's eyes as they walked out into the black night.

"What's all this about anyway? Are we going to a wine tasting or what?"

"You'll see, you'll see!" Harley sounded excited and incomprehensibly happy.

"Where are we going?"

"Trust me and…you know what? Just shut up, my sweetheart, okaaay?" Harley pushed her into the space ship, shut the door and loaded _Are we all we are_ at maximum volume.

"Me trust you? Now you've got me afraid," May said, but more to herself, because there was no way Harley could hear her.

They could've been driving for roughly ten minutes. May was yelling a lot, because Harley was breaking the rules whenever he could, just like you'd expect from him. He was laughing and May crying, but none of them knew about the other thanks to Pink. But in the end May found it amusing. When they finally got out of the pink space ship, May realized that if you don't see you just have to use more of your ears and nose. She never realized how noisy a city at night was. The cars, the treetops, so many chattering… So many scents…so many bars and people! She heard laughter every now and then and she was sure that people were laughing at her covered eyes.

The somewhat homogeneous noise of the city gradually fell back a bit and was replaced by the waves of the sea, the wind and soon by the blinding light of the lighthouse that broke through May's scarf.

"Just a bit more, honey," Harley twittered. May felt like he was becoming even more and more excited with every step they took. She couldn't help becoming just as nervous. Various times she lifted her finger to quietly draw the scarf aside, but Harley was really consistent at watching over his scarf upon her eyes. "Now, now, be a good girl, May."

"Easy for you to say," the young coordinator growled back.

Soon enough May startled and frowned. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she heard Drew's and Solidad's voices respectively, coming somewhere from a blurry distance.

"W-what's up, Harley? Where are we now?"

He didn't even bother to answer anymore. Solidad's voice died away, too. All May could hear was Harley's chuckling, their steps in the sand and the unbelievably romantic ocean breeze.

"That's enough joking, I'm taking this off right now!" Actually this wasn't May, it was Drew.

May inhaled this enormous amount of air at once, like when something really shocks you out. That almost sounded like Drew was being violated in a way similar to hers! And besides, that voice came from close by!

"Ha-ha-ha-aaarley, I…"

"Shush, young maiden. Speak no more, please. Here we gooo!"

"Harley, Harley, nooo!"

Solidad was too late. May felt Harley's hand on top of her head and just when she thought he was finally about to enable her to see something, he pronounced: "Theeere, come, my two stupid little Pi-dove," and he pushed. He pushed his two evil hands together with so much delight and energy that perhaps many dentists in Goldenrod City would have come to love him for the commissions he created for them, if it weren't for Arceus who was watching over all of them and made Drew and May's first kiss at least survivable, if not enjoyable because of the conditions.

"Oh, Harley…please, come on now, I think you've done just enough."

"You crazy or what?! I want to watch this! You know how much work it took us to organize this?!"

May and Drew removed the scarves from their eyes at the same moment, like in a movie. And then they both looked away, like in the reality.

May had lots of trouble maintaining her mouth shut, because no matter how grotesque the situation was, the place where they found themselves was beautifully kitschy. Imagine this wooden tribune built into the sand, white tables, many candles and roses, oh god, don't forget the roses!

"You have to excuse Harley, kids," Solidad remarked, clutching Harley and keeping his mouth tapped, "this has been a bit too much for him and he's tired. I'm taking him home now, but you stay here and…well, enjoy. Your dinner is on the way." And she began dragging Harley away.

Naturally, neither Drew nor May managed to say anything like "thank you" or "shove off" and it probably doesn't need any more explanation. They stood there like statues, both with the expression the judges had when Galileo said "and yet it moves". They couldn't even move for an indefinite amount of time, until a waiter that saw it all and felt really sorry approached them and seeing them literally so lost, he offered to show them to their table.

Drew had the disadvantage of being the man, so he had to find a reasonable way to start a conversation after all this:

"Hi…May."

"Hi, Drew."

"It's…nice to see you again," Drew said, without looking at her, because he really liked to keep his eyes closed for some mysterious motive, sometimes even while walking. Well, it sure looked badass at that moment.

"Nice to see you too," May replied, not looking at him either and for some mayish reason wishing they brought their food already.

Drew flicked his fringe, like he often did, then he folded his arms and carefully opened his eyes. He trusted May wouldn't be looking, but when he proved himself wrong, he closed them again and looked away, his cheeks flushing so brightly you could warm your hands on them. But quite frankly you don't want to try actually doing that.

It took him some more time and a glass of wine to deal with his masculine role.

"Well, May…how are you?"

"Uh…great, thanks. And you?"

"Yeaaah, fine."

After a few minutes:

"Are you entering the Grand Festival?"

"Of course!"

"Well, you won't win."

"Thank you, Drew."

Lucky they brought them dinner soon after.

It was in fact all so good that May was beginning to feel bad for the price that evening must have cost Harley and Solidad. She glanced at Drew to check what he's thinking about all this, but he was just dabbing at the pasta with his fork, with his eyes closed.

May sighed quietly and shuffled on her chair a bit. Man, she couldn't even sink her feet into the sand because of the wooden tribune they were located on.

The next moment May froze and sighed again, but this time it was the girlish sigh, like when you see your idol on TV. Drew opened his eyes and looked at May. And he kept them open! He examined his pretty companion and on his face this kind of smug expression settled which May so often saw after Drew won a contest and she didn't. May really wanted to begin to giggle, and so that Drew wouldn't find it weird, she looked around to see how was the scenery – like you could see much at night with so many candles lit on your table. Probably the only clear object was the enormous lighthouse. It's ball of light, kept so bright by an Ampharos called Amphy whose mistress was nothing but a drunk gym leader, was giving slow but persistent turns, blinding anyone who'd dare to look straight into it.

Blinding…blinding…blinding…

Wait…what?

May looked at her beloved and hated rival and wannabe boyfriend and observed the shade her body threw at his face. Since she moved on her chair, its brim ended about a half an inch after the outer edge of his left eye. Oh right! Drew wasn't so rare after all, he was just too shy to ask May to move a bit, because the lighthouse was just right there in front of him and it was overradiating even May's super double push up maximizer bra.

The wind was playing with May's chestnut locks. The stars and the moonlight were reflected in her eyes, because they were so enormous when she was nervous. And Drew saw that this was going nowhere unless he brought the action.

With a Drew-like confident expression, the youngster pulled his chair closer to May and because of all the noise he made, they received quite a big audience.

May became so stressed that she hardly wanted Drew to be her boyfriend anymore. She really longed for Skitty to sit on top of her head right at those moments. Is her hair okay? Did she shave her legs properly? And her armpits? Isn't that dress a pinch too short? And that bra, isn't it too much? No – a deep inner voice said in her head.

But enough joking now, let's give them a bit of romance – that's what we all want anyway.

"You know, May…"

"Yes?"

"You look stunning. You and your dress and your hair, eyes, perfume, collar, collarbone and…everything," Drew said, staring right into those eyes he made cry so many times. "Here, this is for you." He handed her a rose without thorns, a one that was finally 100% from him. "Um…maybe I…could set right what Harley messed up at the beginning, don't you think?"

People said that at extreme moments like this you find strength inside you, a strength that normally remains hidden. That was perhaps what permitted May to take hold of the flaps on Drew's dark violet jacket and with a quiet voice, which wasn't even as shaky as Drew's, she said: "How about NO? …Oh, Drew."

Did anyone ever tell you that women usually say stuff inverse? Well, luckily Drew found this out soon enough throughout his life. He chuckled nervously and leaned in on May and gently pushed her mouth open and there it was. Although they were both forgetting to breathe, it felt like the whole world just went off to take a shot of absinth…or two. Or maybe even three, because soon everything around them melted into a colorful, spinning and perfectly unimportant carrousel. When you're in love, you become unsupportably egoistic and don't give a thing to what's happening around you.

The two newbie lovers were reminded of the surrounding world in a quite radical way, when someone's mighty fist landed in the middle of their table and stopped the carrousel.

"Ennnough! What were you even thinking, you ugly little Wurmple?!" The voice was naturally feminine and by the end of the sentence it was getting a bit weepy. It belonged to Brianna, who seized May by her forearm and roughly dragged her into the sand.

This was so sudden that Drew remained just as taken aback and motionless as earlier that evening. The rest of the people on the other hand, especially the masculine part, formed a ring around May and Brianna, because this was starting to look promising. Women's wrestling was really fashionable and highly sensual!

"B-Brianna? What is this all about?"

"What? You even dare to ask?! Well, let me show you!"

They began a one-on-one battle with no substitutions. They used fists, nails, screech, tears and bite attacks, all with a great deal of damage and a possibility of leaving the foe paralyzed. And naturally, all the attacks were physical and direct hits.

In one of the nearby bars that had the loudest music they began to play _Call me maybe_. With the fragile, feminine bodies doing a dragon dance the fresh tones intermingled tastily, creating a lush symphony of bravery, deployment and a strong will to win. Their eyes were saying "don't you trifle with me", their teeth, "there be blood tonight", their nails "this is Spartaaa"!

If Drew were a few years older, maybe he'd have known how to enjoy that feeling a male should experience when he sees two beautiful women fighting for him in the sand. But Drew was still too young for this by then, so he had no idea what to do. Many of the present audience were watching him, because he was quite famous in Johto. _What will our idol do, _they asked themselves, _which one will he choose_?

That didn't really depend on Drew, in fact…

"This is going nowhere, let's have a real Pokémon battle! And may the better one of us win!" Brianna said this when it looked like she needed one last decisive scratch from May.

"Fine!"

The crowd cheered, what a good bonus to their expensive dinner!

Drew buried his face in his palms, tried to concentrate on something nice and hoped that when he'd look again, everything would be gone. Well, it didn't happen.

"Go, Flygon!"

"Go, Glaceon!"

May didn't remember when did she last want to win a battle this much. Brianna's earrings were much more beautiful than hers and that was not to be forgiven.

"Ha! Do you think that Flygon and I are not prepared for battling ice types?! Flygon! Flamethrower, now!"

"You wish, Brianna! Dodge, Glaceon, and get behind Flygon!"

"Don't allow it, Flygon!"

"You can do it, Glaceon, speed up!"

"Climb, so Glaceon can't get behind you! Then use flamethrower again…and again!"

"Oh, Glaceon! Get up now and use hail!"

"Flygon, nooo! Don't give up! We have to win so that you can marry Drew's Flygon, remember?"

If it weren't so dark, everyone would have been able to see the expression of pure desperation that overtook Flygon. Maybe it was partly because Brianna reminded it of what would happen if they won that Flygon flew right into the next frost breath May's Glaceon exhaled. Totally exhausted, the dragon fell right into the white sand. It even shook its head to assure Brianna it was unable to keep battling.

Brianna produced a powerful, high-pitched and surprisingly long screech. In between many heartbreaking sobs, she ripped off her earrings and flung them in May's direction.

"Take them! I wore them more for Drew than for myself anyway!"

"Oh!" That was the best day in May's life! She couldn't believe those earrings belonged to her from that moment. "Glaceon," she gasped, "I love you!"

She received a loud applause from the crowd and as she put on those earrings triumphantly and walked over to Drew, she felt like a noble lioness who was able to protect her territory.

Drew smirked at her, flicked his fringe like always and shut his eyes. It looked like it was him again. May would have liked to have less audience, because she really wanted to greet her newly conquered man with some physical contact. This way they had to make do with something simpler, but perhaps more romantic than you can ever imagine, if you take into account everything they've been through.

The people around them were dissolving, but they were still making a lot of noise. May blushed and gave in to a sudden impulse a wave of emotions woke inside her. "And I love you, too, Drew."

Drew couldn't hear the sound of those words, but he deduced them from the way May's lips moved. He would have liked to tell her the same. But for this time he only smiled and nodded lightly.

When the last group of Drew's infantile fans saw that they've come too late and the young couple stopped being the centre of attention, they could do something they both wanted to do for a very long time, but were too inept to actually manage it: Drew held out his hand and May took it. Lucky this happened when they were already out of the restaurant, a bit away from all the people. May and Drew could relax and enjoy that they could hold hands, stare into each other's eyes and get more and more horny with each and every one of those looks.

"So, May, I was thinking maybe we could spare ourselves the trouble of getting back to Goldenrod tonight. What do you think?"

Until that moment May didn't realize they were in Olivine City. And that question got her so nervous that she almost proposed she'd call Jasmine and Cathy to join the party. But remembering Mawile and imagining Drew's potential reaction to that she chose to just pass it in silence and nodded.

Drew smiled at her and hugged her, because she just agreed to actually spend a nighttime with him. She only didn't realize it yet.

The sun stretched its rays mightily and slapped four pretty cheeks belonging to four princesses snoring like fallen angels. Some of them on the single bed, some on the floor, some halfway here and halfway there.

Man, that sure was one powerful party!

May smacked her lips in her "no stress" way and slowly began to open one eye. It was hard.

"Ma! Ma-wile!"

"Wuuuaaaaaaahhh!"

"Huh…wat? It mornin' already?"

"Mmmmh…shut up and let's sleep some more."

"Um…Jasmine…didn't you say you had some gym battles today?"

"Yeah…at one pm… Now let me sleep…"

"Well, don't wanna break it to ya, sweetie, but…it's kinda one thirty pm…"

"Oh… oh. Ok. Wait…_what_?!"

Jasmine sprang to her feet and rubbed her eyes that were totally glued, because she forgot to remove her contact lenses the previous night…or morning. "Shit…" she murmured when she checked her watch. "Well, 'twas nice seeing you, girls. Be good. I'm off… Love ya, Cathy…"

"Jasmine, they're going to first report you for causing a public nuisance with that hangover of yours and then they'll fire you as a gym leader."

"Thanks, Solidad. Well, Steelix and I are winners!" She punched into the air with her fist, but then realized that was a gesture way too energetic for her present condition and gave a desperate sigh. "Well…bye…"

As she opened the door, she bumped into someone, cursed lightly and was gone.

Harley's purple head appeared and it looked about just as representative as May's or Solidad's.

"What?" Solidad was clearly very happy to see Harley.

"Yay! Can't I join you, ladies?"

"…Nnno. Get - out."

"…Since that pretty friend of yours left a free place…"

"I said get out, Harley."

Harley didn't enter, only shook his unkempt purple hair and gestured for Solidad to go out, in a very important manner.

And Solidad? Well, what could she do? She rolled her eyes so intensely it was painful, but she went.

May didn't remember much more. She pushed Mawile's intense face aside in vain, then turned to her other side and drifted back to sleep.

Solidad shook her awake adamantly a few hours later. "May? May! How's your budget?"

"What? Oh…it used to be worse…why?"

"Dress up and come along. Let's do some ladies' shopping today. Let Cathy sleep in…it's been a tough night. But a great one, too." Solidad stretched and checked the time. "…And hurry! It's past three!"

"Riiight! But…I don't wanna do any shopping, I just…yaaaaawn…wanna sleep some more, please."

"Oh yes, you do want to! Now come quick! Harley allowed us to borrow his car."

"That pink space ship? I hope you asked him to at least switch off that _Are we all we are_…"

Although that day/afternoon began with May's protests, as soon as she saw the "50% off" banner in her favorite boutique, she forgot the cruel way in which Solidad woke her. She clasped her hands together and produced a sound similar to the one when a woman is having an orgasm.

Solidad laughed at this, but had a hard time concealing her own emotions upon seeing so many lovely dresses. She had to keep in mind that they didn't come there for _her_ sake and inside, she secretly swore that the next day she'd come with Harley and buy all the shirts she ran her fingers over. But enough dreaming, she clenched her fist painfully. "May! May, how is it? Do you like anything?"

"Um…yes! This T-shirt looks so nice! And this hat…and…and these jeans!"

"Oh, you're right!" Solidad also swore she'd try on everything May has just shown to her. "And how about the dresses? Like any of them?"

"Don't know…I have so many dresses at home."

"But you're a woman, how can you say such a thing?"

"I-"

"A woman can never have enough dresses…why don't you choose one?"

"Because…I'd prefer new jeans!"

"Then buy jeans and a dress!"

"But…why, Solidad? Why do you want me to buy a dress so much? Hey…you're up to no good, am I right? What did you talk to Harley about so secretly this morning?!"

"That's a secret. Now stop answering back and choose a nice dress!"

May snorted and chose a super sexy model, because she'd never confess it to Solidad, but she was dying to know her plan with May's new dress.

"Great! Good job, May, lovely! When can I borrow it? Uh…just kidding."

"Yeah…so…now we're done and I can choose jeans!"

"Yes, yes…sure…sure! Just…do you have shoes and a handbag?"

May widened her large eyes at Solidad and beamed. "No. Not here."

* * *

It was getting dark when the two women got back to Solidad's room. Miss top coordinator rammed her large collection of cosmetics into May's arms and with the words "Think about Drew and make yourself pretty…I mean _even prettier_," she basically pushed her into the small bathroom she had in her room. Then she begun working on packing Catharina's stuff, as she was just waking up.

May felt annoyingly confused, but was at the same time starting to like playing with Solidad. Specially if she allows her to finally try M.A.C. make-up. She was drooling over it while watching some tutorials and eating breadrolls with cottage cheese and spinach.

…That reminded her of first having to brush her teeth. All her inner organs were dancing flamenco, because she felt she'd be seeing Drew that night. May really wanted to screech, but she wasn't sure if because of how happy or how nervous she was.

In each case, after some time our May left the bathroom all changed and looking like a top model in her super push up maximizer bra that cost her about like that fancy navy blue dress she was wearing. God, she was content! And even more when Solidad grasped both her hands and just dropped her jaw. One second after that Solidad was brutally knocked aside by Harley, who sure proved to be more expressive.

"Ooooooooooh, myyyyyyyyy, Maaaaaaay! You look soooooo eatable! Can I give you a kiss?" Without waiting for any response, Harley kissed her on the cheek and then wiped his cherry chapstick off with his thumb, thus ruining one half of May's make-up. Lucky she never knew, the poor thing.

"Well, Harley?"

He and Solidad shared a look that proved that May was the only one who hadn't the slightest idea of what the heck was going on. Solidad then left and Harley pulled out a purple scarf that smelled like the inside of his space ship. "Turn your back on me, cutiepie, and close your precious eyes, if you please."

"WHAT are you about to do, Harley?! I don't trust you, you see."

"May… but you have no choice…muhahahahahaha!" Harley span her around with his sheer force ability that was until then hidden and tied the scarf to cover May's eyes. "Don't you dare to protest, little girl. Now I'mma kidnap and violate you. Right in my space ship!"

"No, Harley, stop! Not there! Not in your space ship!"

Harley laughed out. "C'mon, like I'd want to nail a girl… But hey-May, do me a favor and don't ruin this evening. Don't touch that scarf, leave it where it is."

Harley made her take his arm and reliably filled in for May's eyes as they walked out into the black night.

"What's all this about anyway? Are we going to a wine tasting or what?"

"You'll see, you'll see!" Harley sounded excited and incomprehensibly happy.

"Where are we going?"

"Trust me and…you know what? Just shut up, my sweetheart, okaaay?" Harley pushed her into the space ship, shut the door and loaded _Are we all we are_ at maximum volume.

"Me trust you? Now you've got me afraid," May said, but more to herself, because there was no way Harley could hear her.

They could've been driving for roughly ten minutes. May was yelling a lot, because Harley was breaking the rules whenever he could, just like you'd expect from him. He was laughing and May crying, but none of them knew about the other thanks to Pink. But in the end May found it amusing. When they finally got out of the pink space ship, May realized that if you don't see you just have to use more of your ears and nose. She never realized how noisy a city at night was. The cars, the treetops, so many chattering… So many scents…so many bars and people! She heard laughter every now and then and she was sure that people were laughing at her covered eyes.

The somewhat homogeneous noise of the city gradually fell back a bit and was replaced by the waves of the sea, the wind and soon by the blinding light of the lighthouse that broke through May's scarf.

"Just a bit more, honey," Harley twittered. May felt like he was becoming even more and more excited with every step they took. She couldn't help becoming just as nervous. Various times she lifted her finger to quietly draw the scarf aside, but Harley was really consistent at watching over his scarf upon her eyes. "Now, now, be a good girl, May."

"Easy for you to say," the young coordinator growled back.

Soon enough May startled and frowned. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she heard Drew's and Solidad's voices respectively, coming somewhere from a blurry distance.

"W-what's up, Harley? Where are we now?"

He didn't even bother to answer anymore. Solidad's voice died away, too. All May could hear was Harley's chuckling, their steps in the sand and the unbelievably romantic ocean breeze.

"That's enough joking, I'm taking this off right now!" Actually this wasn't May, it was Drew.

May inhaled this enormous amount of air at once, like when something really shocks you out. That almost sounded like Drew was being violated in a way similar to hers! And besides, that voice came from close by!

"Ha-ha-ha-aaarley, I…"

"Shush, young maiden. Speak no more, please. Here we gooo!"

"Harley, Harley, nooo!"

Solidad was too late. May felt Harley's hand on top of her head and just when she thought he was finally about to enable her to see something, he pronounced: "Theeere, come, my two stupid little Pi-dove," and he pushed. He pushed his two evil hands together with so much delight and energy that perhaps many dentists in Goldenrod City would have come to love him for the commissions he created for them, if it weren't for Arceus who was watching over all of them and made Drew and May's first kiss at least survivable, if not enjoyable because of the conditions.

"Oh, Harley…please, come on now, I think you've done just enough."

"You crazy or what?! I want to watch this! You know how much work it took us to organize this?!"

May and Drew removed the scarves from their eyes at the same moment, like in a movie. And then they both looked away, like in the reality.

May had lots of trouble maintaining her mouth shut, because no matter how grotesque the situation was, the place where they found themselves was beautifully kitschy. Imagine this wooden tribune built into the sand, white tables, many candles and roses, oh god, don't forget the roses!

"You have to excuse Harley, kids," Solidad remarked, clutching Harley and keeping his mouth tapped, "this has been a bit too much for him and he's tired. I'm taking him home now, but you stay here and…well, enjoy. Your dinner is on the way." And she began dragging Harley away.

Naturally, neither Drew nor May managed to say anything like "thank you" or "shove off" and it probably doesn't need any more explanation. They stood there like statues, both with the expression the judges had when Galileo said "and yet it moves". They couldn't even move for an indefinite amount of time, until a waiter that saw it all and felt really sorry approached them and seeing them literally so lost, he offered to show them to their table.

Drew had the disadvantage of being the man, so he had to find a reasonable way to start a conversation after all this:

"Hi…May."

"Hi, Drew."

"It's…nice to see you again," Drew said, without looking at her, because he really liked to keep his eyes closed for some mysterious motive, sometimes even while walking. Well, it sure looked badass at that moment.

"Nice to see you too," May replied, not looking at him either and for some mayish reason wishing they brought their food already.

Drew flicked his fringe, like he often did, then he folded his arms and carefully opened his eyes. He trusted May wouldn't be looking, but when he proved himself wrong, he closed them again and looked away, his cheeks flushing so brightly you could warm your hands on them. But quite frankly you don't want to try actually doing that.

It took him some more time and a glass of wine to deal with his masculine role.

"Well, May…how are you?"

"Uh…great, thanks. And you?"

"Yeaaah, fine."

After a few minutes:

"Are you entering the Grand Festival?"

"Of course!"

"Well, you won't win."

"Thank you, Drew."

Lucky they brought them dinner soon after.

It was in fact all so good that May was beginning to feel bad for the price that evening must have cost Harley and Solidad. She glanced at Drew to check what he's thinking about all this, but he was just dabbing at the pasta with his fork, with his eyes closed.

May sighed quietly and shuffled on her chair a bit. Man, she couldn't even sink her feet into the sand because of the wooden tribune they were located on.

The next moment May froze and sighed again, but this time it was the girlish sigh, like when you see your idol on TV. Drew opened his eyes and looked at May. And he kept them open! He examined his pretty companion and on his face this kind of smug expression settled which May so often saw after Drew won a contest and she didn't. May really wanted to begin to giggle, and so that Drew wouldn't find it weird, she looked around to see how was the scenery – like you could see much at night with so many candles lit on your table. Probably the only clear object was the enormous lighthouse. It's ball of light, kept so bright by an Ampharos called Amphy whose mistress was nothing but a drunk gym leader, was giving slow but persistent turns, blinding anyone who'd dare to look straight into it.

Blinding…blinding…blinding…

Wait…what?

May looked at her beloved and hated rival and wannabe boyfriend and observed the shade her body threw at his face. Oh, right! Drew wasn't so rare after all, he was just too shy to ask May to move a bit, because the lighthouse was just right there in front of him and it was overradiating even May's super double push up maximizer bra.

The wind was playing with May's chestnut locks. The stars and the moonlight were reflected in her eyes, because they were so enormous when she was nervous. And Drew saw that this was going nowhere unless he brought the action.

With a Drew-like confident expression, the youngster pulled his chair closer to May and because of all the noise he made, they received quite a big audience.

May became so stressed that she hardly wanted Drew to be her boyfriend anymore. She really longed for Skitty to sit on top of her head right at those moments. Is her hair okay? Did she shave her legs properly? And her armpits? Isn't that dress a pinch too short? And that bra, isn't it too much? No – a deep inner voice said in her head.

But enough joking now, let's give them a bit of romance – that's what we all want anyway.

"You know, May…"

"Yes?"

"You look stunning. You and your dress and your hair, eyes, perfume, collar, collarbone and…everything," Drew said, staring right into those eyes he made cry so many times. "Here, this is for you." He handed her a rose without thorns, a one that was finally 100% from him. "Um…maybe I…could set right what Harley messed up at the beginning, don't you think?"

People said that at extreme moments like this you find strength inside you, a strength that normally remains hidden. That was perhaps what permitted May to take hold of the flaps on Drew's dark violet jacket and with a quiet voice, which wasn't even as shaky as Drew's, she said: "How about NO? …Oh, Drew."

Did anyone ever tell you that women usually say stuff inverse? Well, luckily Drew found this out soon enough throughout his life. He chuckled nervously and leaned in on May and gently pushed her mouth open and there it was. Although they were both forgetting to breathe, it felt like the whole world just went off to take a shot of absinth…or two. Or maybe even three, because soon everything around them melted into a colorful, spinning and perfectly unimportant carrousel. When you're in love, you become unsupportably egoistic and don't give a thing to what's happening around you.

The two newbie lovers were reminded of the surrounding world in a quite radical way, when someone's mighty fist landed in the middle of their table and stopped the carrousel.

"Ennnough! What were you even thinking, you ugly little Wurmple?!" The voice was naturally feminine and by the end of the sentence it was getting a bit weepy. It belonged to Brianna, who seized May by her forearm and roughly dragged her into the sand.

This was so sudden that Drew remained just as taken aback and motionless as earlier that evening. The rest of the people on the other hand, especially the masculine part, formed a ring around May and Brianna, because this was starting to look promising. Women's wrestling was really fashionable and highly sensual!

"B-Brianna? What is this all about?"

"What? You even dare to ask?! Well, let me show you!"

They began a one-on-one battle with no substitutions. They used fists, nails, screech, tears and bite attacks, all with a great deal of damage and a possibility of leaving the foe paralyzed. And naturally, all the attacks were physical and direct hits.

In one of the nearby bars that had the loudest music they began to play _Call me maybe_. With the fragile, feminine bodies doing a dragon dance the fresh tones intermingled tastily, creating a lush symphony of bravery, deployment and a strong will to win. Their eyes were saying "don't you trifle with me", their teeth, "there be blood tonight", their nails "this is Spartaaa"!

If Drew were a few years older, maybe he'd have known how to enjoy that feeling a male should experience when he sees two beautiful women fighting for him in the sand. But Drew was still too young for this by then, so he had no idea what to do. Many of the present audience were watching him, because he was quite famous in Johto. _What will our idol do, _they asked themselves, _which one will he choose_?

That didn't really depend on Drew, in fact…

"This is going nowhere, let's have a real Pokémon battle! And may the better one of us win!" Brianna said this when it looked like she needed one last decisive scratch from May.

"Fine!"

The crowd cheered, what a good bonus to their expensive dinner!

Drew buried his face in his palms, tried to concentrate on something nice and hoped that when he'd look again, everything would be gone. Well, it didn't happen.

"Go, Flygon!"

"Go, Glaceon!"

May didn't remember when did she last want to win a battle this much. Brianna's earrings were much more beautiful than hers and that was not to be forgiven.

"Ha! Do you think that Flygon and I are not prepared for battling ice types?! Flygon! Flamethrower, now!"

"You wish, Brianna! Dodge, Glaceon, and get behind Flygon!"

"Don't allow it, Flygon!"

"You can do it, Glaceon, speed up!"

"Climb, so Glaceon can't get behind you! Then use flamethrower again…and again!"

"Oh, Glaceon! Get up now and use hail!"

"Flygon, nooo! Don't give up! We have to win so that you can marry Drew's Flygon, remember?"

If it weren't so dark, everyone would have been able to see the expression of pure desperation that overtook Flygon. Maybe it was partly because Brianna reminded it of what would happen if they won that Flygon flew right into the next frost breath May's Glaceon exhaled. Totally exhausted, the dragon fell right into the white sand. It even shook its head to assure Brianna it was unable to keep battling.

Brianna produced a powerful, high-pitched and surprisingly long screech. In between many heartbreaking sobs, she ripped off her earrings and flung them in May's direction.

"Take them! I wore them more for Drew than for myself anyway!"

"Oh!" That was the best day in May's life! She couldn't believe those earrings belonged to her from that moment. "Glaceon," she gasped, "I love you!"

She received a loud applause from the crowd and as she put on those earrings triumphantly and walked over to Drew, she felt like a noble lioness who was able to protect her territory.

Drew smirked at her, flicked his fringe like always and shut his eyes. It looked like it was him again. May would have liked to have less audience, because she really wanted to greet her newly conquered man with some physical contact. This way they had to make do with something simpler, but perhaps more romantic than you can ever imagine, if you take into account everything they've been through.

The people around them were dissolving, but they were still making a lot of noise. May blushed and gave in to a sudden impulse a wave of emotions woke inside her. "And I love you, too, Drew."

Drew couldn't hear the sound of those words, but he deduced them from the way May's lips moved. He would have liked to tell her the same. But for this time he only smiled and nodded lightly.

When the last group of Drew's infantile fans saw that they've come too late and the young couple stopped being the centre of attention, they could do something they both wanted to do for a very long time, but were too inept to actually manage it: Drew held out his hand and May took it. Lucky this happened when they were already out of the restaurant, a bit away from all the people. May and Drew could relax and enjoy that they could hold hands, stare into each other's eyes and get more and more horny with each and every one of those looks.

"So, May, I was thinking maybe we could spare ourselves the trouble of getting back to Goldenrod tonight. What do you think?"

Until that moment May didn't realize they were in Olivine City. And that question got her so nervous that she almost proposed she'd call Jasmine and Cathy to join the party. But remembering Mawile and imagining Drew's potential reaction to that she chose to just pass it in silence and nodded.

Drew smiled at her and hugged her, because she just agreed to actually spend a nighttime with him. She only didn't realize it yet.


End file.
